The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1887-03-08
AN IRON MOUNTAIN TRAIN FALLS
THROUGH A BRIDGE
IRto q Rushing Torrent-The En-
gineer, Fireman and Passengers
Make Narrow Escapes
EITHER FROM BEING DROWNED
Or CRUSHED TO DEATH.
ALI the Express and Mail Matter Scat
tered for Miles Over q
Flooded Country.

while not being at all unusual in re-
gard to fatal CASUAL les, proves to have
been quite remarkable in respect to
several circumstance whic b attended
it. 1t occurred at Victoria, thirty
nine miles south of here, little after
10 o'clock, and was occasioned by the
giving way, under the train, of the
trestle whlch crosses Joachino creek
at that point. The train was the
Texas express, and consisted OF bag
gage, express and mail cars, a smoker,
two passenger coaches and four sleep
ers, carrying about 100 passengers. A
heavy rain bad fallen all day, and the
creek wss much swollen. At Henri
lite, the first station on this side of the
trestle, the engineers received orders
to run cautiously, as the rain had
been heavy and the creek was out OF
its banks. Engineer Kelly says he
ran slowly beyond that point, and both
he and his fireman, VIM. Hach,
watched the track very carefully.
As he approached the trestle
Kelley observed that the track
was entirely straight and level,
showing nothing wrong, and
he went on. without the slightest fear
or hesitation, but when his engine
reached about the middle OF the
trestle he felt the whole structure
sinking beneath him. In an instant
he opened the valve operating the air
breaks full width and brought the
train to 80 quick stop that the front
end of one of the cars was crushed in
by the sudden shock. This saved the
coaches, but the baggage, mail, ex-
press al d smoking cars went into the
raging torrent below, carrying with
them all the men on board. Engi-
neer Kelley and Fireman Hach went
down with the engine and were euo-
merged in the hood. Kelley ia his
struggles to free himself found that
one of his feet was held fast, but at
the same instant and Just az he real.
iEsd that be must drown, the engine
turned over, his foot was released and
he came to the surface. Ssizing a
passing log he chung to 1t desperately
and was swept down with the torrent
and lodged against a tree 100 yards
below. With scarcely strength
enough to move, he clasped
his legs and around the
limb OF tree, became unconscious
and was not restored until two or
three hours after he had been taken
from the tree, when be found himself
kindly cred for in house in Victoria.
His face and head were severely cut,
two of his toes cut from one of his
feet and he is very badly bruised in
various parts of the body. He will
recover. Fireman Hatch was carried
about 500 yards down stream, lodged
in a mass Of bIush or drift and was
rescued soon after the food subsidized
He is a good deal bruised, but not
seriously hurt. The postal car was
swept away some distance, and as the
water rushed through it from end to
end, the mail was literally washed out
and is now scattered over miles OF ter.
ritory or imbedded in the mud of the
creek. 1t is regarded as an almost
total loss, the whole Of it being COM
pletely soaked and the addresses OF
the letters being obliterated. The
postal clerks, Mccullough, Shaffsr and
Ryan, were badly bruised and almost
drowned, and being stripped for work,
they lost all their clothes, their gold
watches and about $3.50 in money,
which were carried away by the food.
The smoker, which is said 10 haye
contained some twenty persons,
was swept down some 800 feet below
the trestle and all Of its occupants are
believed to have been saved. They
succeeded in getting outside of the
ear and chung to its top until they
were rescued. There is some d1ubts
about the baggage man and express
messenger being saved, but a late dis
patch from the WIRE OK ssys that none
OF the train men Were lost. As stated
last night, special train was sent
from here between IL and / O'Clock
conveying physicians and medical
supplies. The train returned this af-
ternoon and brought a number of pas.
sengeIs and train men who did not care
to wait at the wreck until the tIeste
was repaired. AS soon as the water
subsided sufficiently large gang of
men was put TO work and new cross.
ing was finished this afternoon, and
trains are now running regularly. The
cause OF the unprecedented food Is be-
lieved to have been cloudburst which
tosk place late in the evening and e led
the creek, which runs between rugg d
hills for miles, 80 full that it became
raging torrent with currenttf over
twenty miles an hour and swept ev,
orything before it.
A full list OF casualties cannot be OBJ
tanned tonight, but aside from Henry
Byron, Of Jamestow n, N. Y, who was
found drowned in the smoker, aud
Byron, a brakeman, who had a foot
dislocated, no one other than those
mentioned above were in any way So
riously injured. Nearly one.half of
those in the smoking car lost most of
their clothing, it being torn from their
persons in getting out of the car or by
the rushing water through which they
were dragged ashore by ropes. A
farmer named Andrew Whitehead, of
Bailey station, did heroic work in saw
ing passengers, he having swan sew.
eral times to the smoker, and each
time returned with one of the un-
fortunates, who were cliDging to the
roof of the car. Several Of the psssen-
gers in the sleepers also aided ma
terially in the work, and Conductor
Guion of the train and all of the train
crew labored like TTojans in lescuing
those on the car. The mail is said to
have been the largest ever sent over
the road, and losses will fall heavily on
this city, where about three-quarters
OF the matter originated. The regis
tered matter was also very heavy and
valuable, consisting largely OF remit
tances from firms here to their cor
respondents in Texas. There were
separate pouches for Palestine, Dallas,
Texarkans, Hot Springs, Ark, and
Memphis, aud one from New York
for Houston Tex. There were also
twenty,sight registered packages for
smaller stations. The paper mail ia
said to be a total loss. All Of thS let
ter mail that can be found will be
brought here and every O.
fort will be made to ascertain Il
whom it belongs. An express pack
age without address or anything on 1t
by which it can be identified, contain
a.. eQ5 0O0 rvon foua1 TODAY and IL 1